Trench-guide relisting-plow



S. K. DENNIS.

TRENCH GUIDE RELiSTING PLOW. APPLICATION man swr'. 18. 1919.

Patehted Jan. 25, 1921.

2526/672 fDe/zaZ/S? @ggd/z S. K. DENNIS. `THENCH GUIDE RELISTING PLOW.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. I8, 1919. y

Patented Jan.

UNITED STATES SAMUEL K. DENNIS,

PATENT oFFicE.l

vns'rnn COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 18, 1919. Serial No. 324,653.

To all whom ift may concern Be it known that I, SAMUEL a citizen of theUnited Chicago, in the county lof Cook and State of Illinois, have-invented certain new and useful Improvements in Trench-GuideRelisting-Flows, of .which the following is a full, clear, and exactspecification.` l

The purpose of this invention is to provide a IrnultipleLplowconstruction intended for general soil listing work and also for cuttingdown the ridges of listed land by throwing the ridges to right and leftinto the location of the furrows between such ridges. During the lastmentioned operation the Sup- K. DENNIS,

porting wheels of the plow travel in the prei pitch, as is necessaryviously formed or old furrows. The design is also 'intended to provide aplow structure wherein the erably more t an the normal distance, inorder that the wheels may travel along the tops of the ridges and permitshallow plowing or relisting between the ridges in cases, where, due tothe improper growing of the crop, it becomes necessary to plow it outand replant. A' i. i

The new design relates particularly to a frame structure for supportingplow' carrying .beams and lowering cutting with 'an accompanyingvariation of for overcoming vibration and properly holdingthe plows toVtheir i work at different depths.

The invention also relates to an arrangement of controlling mechanismfor regulating the vertical pitch of the individual plows or tools withthe end. in view of effecting a balanced 'running of the machine, andvby this means eliminating unsteady running or vibration which mightoccur'when oneLtool yhas a tendency to dig more than another,

or to compensate for differences in suction of the .tools 4and toprevent the side drift of the machine. f i

`A further purpose of the invention is to I provide an improvedlcarrying truck for re- Sisting Side motion and for properly trackt ingin a trench on listed ground, particularly in connection with inwardlyand outwardly throwing or listing plows which are spacedv States,residing at pllows may be lowered consid\ and to a mechanism forraisingbeams for different depths of -tilting the port 'to Such slightextent as may vbe neces-` ,tain their Setting,

dueto imperceptibleV differences in the`sur d v apart for vthe purposeof turning down "a sired results are accomplishedpreferably in cludesthe following features: fairly rigid truck, having a longitudinal beamor reach, connecting one or more pairs of tracking wheels, and a crossbeam forward which indirectly Supports the forward end of vthe plowbeams. The rear wheels of the sup porting or guiding truck are placedbetween Patented Jan. 25, 19,21.

the plow points to effectively resist side shift of the plows. The rearend of the guiding truck is also in a sense independent of the plowframe, being free to follow irregular Surfaces in the bottom of thetrench orion the top of a ridge or on level surfaces, the truckStructure being pivotally connected at its forward end with the plowsupporting frame. The weight of the operator assists in holding the reartruck wheels down and agamst lateral motion, but independently of theoperators weight the draft serves to force the rear wheels to follow lowsurfaces due to its location with respect to the axis of the forwardtruck wheels, or if the -front truck wheels are omitted when the deviceiS tractor-drawn, due to its location with respect to the pivotal axisbetween the truck and plow frame. The rear end of .the plow beams havetheir own supporting wheels,

wheels not only maintain their individual plows at the proper height,but also serve the function of supporting Aand Steadying the gangofplows. The plow beams maybe raised or lowered simultaneouslyv at theirend connections with the trucka'nd'their individual supporting wheels.In addition, each plow beam may be raised. and lowered at its forwardend only for the purpose of beam around itsrearpiv'otal supsary foraltering the relative vertical pitch of the plows.

' Ordinarily, with a'well constructed limplei ment. and when theseparate adjusting means for the different plows are Similarly set,t.heplows will cut at the same depth `and mainbut even then, possibly facecurves of the plows occurring rin the hardening operatlons, one plow mayhave a i tendency to dig deeper than another and it Figure 1 which is asideelevation of a plow constructed. according to this invenportions ofthe crank axles 17 carry rotate Fig. 2 is a plan view of the plow shownin Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a detail inside elevation, illustrating the verticalpitchadjustment of the tool carrying beams;

Fig. 4 is a sectional detail of the tie bar connection between the plowbeams taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 5; and

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of one end of the tie bar andits connection with the beam wheel crank axle.

The su porting truck or main frame structure of t e implement comprisesalongitudinal reach beam 1, and a transverse beam 2 near its forward end.A. pair of truck wheels i 3 are shown at each end of beam 1, the wheelsof each pair being suitably spaced apart for running in a single trenchwhile being guided by ridges on each side of the trench. A bent axle 4for the rear truck wheels is rigidly clamped to the reach bar 1, whilean axle 5 for the front truck wheels is carried by vertical shaft 6which is journaled in arms 7 bolted to the forward end of reach bar 1.Shaft 6 being rotatably mounted, permits steering by the front truckwheels, this shaft carrying a clevis bar 8 for attachment to draftappliances not shown.

\ For the purpose of supporting the plow beams- 9 in the desired manneron the main frame, a secondary or plow beam supporting frame 1s carriedby the beam 2 and the wheels 10. This secondary frame may consist of acrank shaft 11, the tie bar 12 and the connection between the crankshaft 11 and the tie bar provided by the plow beams 9. The bearings 13of the lcrank shaft are securely fastened to cross beam 2. y Rotation ofthe crank shaft results in crank portions 14 moving around the bearingaxis of the shaft, and

therefore raising or lowering the front ends of the beams 9 and throughlinkconnections 15 between the forged crank ends 16 of shaft 11 and thecrank axles 17 for wheels 10,'rear ends of thel beams 9 are raised orlowered; The links 15 are pivotally connected at their rear ends to arms18, in turn clamped to the longitudinal portions 19 of crank axles 17The laterally extending wheel supporting ablesleeves 20,130 which wheels10 'are adjustably keyed. The upper inwardly extending portions 21 ofthe crank axles 17 extend into the ends of the hollow ti'ebar l 12 andare prevented from shifting lengthwise ofthe tie bar by the collararrangement shown in Fig. 5 consisting of a collar 22 secured to part 21of the crank axle, and a collar 23 secured to the tie bar 12 and havingan extension 24 provided with an inwardly formed flange 25 for partiallyencircling the end of collar 22 and holding the collar 22 and crank axlein place. y In order to remove one of the crank axles, the set screw ofthe corresponding collar 23 is loosened. The crank axle may then bedrawn out of tie bar 12, carrying collar 23 with it.

The connections previously mentioned between the crank portions 14 ofcrank shaft 11 and the tool supporting beams comprise brackets 26 havinga plurality of horizontally andl laterally spaced apertures 27 at whichpoints bell crank levers 28 are adjustably secured. The ,tool beams 9are pivotally connected to the bell crank levers 28 at the elbows of thelevers by the bearing members 29. The upwardly extending arms 30 of bellcrank levers 28 are secured at two points to'vertical pitch regulatinglevers 31. Levers 31 are normally retained in their set positionsagainst relative motion with respect to the tool beams 9 by notchedquadrants 32 engaged by locking pawls 33 carried by the levers 31. Thequadrants 32 are pivotally connected for limited motion with respect tcthe tool beams 9, but such pivotal motion of the quadrants is normallyprevented by their connections with the levers 31.

`When one of the vertical pitch regulating levers 31 is released fromits quadrant 32 and is rocked around its bearing 29 with beam 9,considering the lever 31 and its bell crank lever 28 as a singleelement, the bearing 29 is slightly raised or lowered, swinging with itthe bracket member 26 around the axis of the crank portion 14 of crankshaft 11.

This results in a slight vertical motion of the beam aroundits point ofsupport at its rear end. The relative angular setting ofthe lever 31,beam 9'and quadrant 32, being A like adjustment of both levers 31 maybe' Y utilized for different purposes, and in this case the pitch ofallplows would be uniformly changed as becomes desirable at times, dueto differences in weight or other conditions of the soil affecting theaction of the plows in holding to their work.

Both levers 31 are also adjusted uniformly in a rearward direction touniformly increase the vertical pitch of all jplows when the implementis used for reli'sting. 1n the latter increase in ,'cranknportions 14from the position indicated by full lines in.

secured to crank case, the plows may be lowered the maximum or nearlythe maximum extent as the supporting wheels 3 and 10 travel along thetops of the ridges when the plows are in the bottoms'of the furrows, butat this time arc normally employed for shallow cutting on y. j

The reason for materially increasing the vertical pitch of all plowswhen relisting is that in the normal raising and lowering of all plowbeams for depth regulation by means of a lever 34, the vertical pitch ofthe plows is decreased according. to an depth. When the plows arecutting shallow, their pitch must be increased over what it is for thenormal depth of cutting, in order to offset the tendency of the plows tosteer upwardly out of the ground. Accordingly, when the plows arelowered lto near the maximum extent the ,pitch is slight, and thereforeto make the imple ent suitable for relisting purposes it is necessary'to provide a separate vertical lpitch adjustmentfor the plows withrespect `to their normal pitchv when in the lowered positions.

The depth regulating lever 34 is journaled at 35 to a bracket secured tothe side of the reach beam 1, and at its lower end is connected by alink 36 with an arm 37 rigidly axle 11. The depth regulating lever issecured in its set position by a spring locking pawl in coperation withthe notched quadrant 38 fastened at its ends to one-side of the reachbar 1 adjacent lever 34. The links 15 connecting the arms 16 of thecrank shaft 11 with thev crank axles 17 serve to transmit the rotarymotion of crank shaft 11, effected by the lever 34 to the crank axles.If lever 34 is adjusted forwardly, the of shaft 11 will lower Fig. 1,and the crank axles 17 will rock upwardly around their journals in theends of tie bar 12. The crank portions of the crank shaft 11 and thecrankaxles 17 are of different lengths, or may have. different angularsettings, for the purpose of insuring the desired uniform variation inpitch vof the tools or plows, as required for cuttin at differentdepths.

'ounterbalancing spring39 for the plow beams is attached at one end to arearward extension of link 36, and at the other end is hooked to an eyeextending rearwardly from transverse frame beam'2.

The tie bar12 connectingthe rear ends of the plow beams issecurely'fastened to the beams by lower` sides of the tie bars and'`through apertures in bracket members 41 securely fastened to plow beams9.

v The maximum pitch adjustment under the action of levers 31 when bothof these levers are moved rearwardly as far as posthe implement fromU-bolts 40 passing around theA 29 moves through an arc, the center ofwhich is in a -horizontal plane with the crank portion 14 or crank Shaft11. Accordingly, there is but an extremely slight longitudinal motion ofthe beams 9 upon such adjustment, and practically none when only one ofthe levers 31 is adjusted for the purpose of compensating for somepermanent difference in digging action of the different plows. When bothlevers 31 are adjusted, the plow beams ivot on portions 21 of crankaxles 17. ikewise when the depth regulating lever 34 is adjusted, theplowy beams pivot at the same point, but the crank axles 17 are alsorocked around the same center. When only one lever 31 is adjusted to thelimited extent required for compensat ing for some normal difference inlpitch 'a torsional action takes place n the tie bar 12. Y Beams 9 beingpreferably securely fastened to the tie bar, the latter resists angularmotion of a plow beam around the tieV bar when another plow beam islocked against motion. The result of this resistance is that instead oftorsionin'g the tie bar 12 other than may be easily accomplished, due toits elasticity, the forward end of the. adjusted low beam tends to pushupwardly or downwardly on the cross frame member 2 accord- 95 ing to thedirection of the adjustment. The main frame is in fact slightly tiltedbytheaction, not away from the true horizontal plane, but toward suchposition, for the reason that the unequal action ofv the .plows whichnecessitated the adjustment, results in a lateral tilting of the mainframe. This tilting indicates the faulty action to the opera'tor whothen adjusts one of the levers 31 until the frame. is brought back to atrue 105 horizontal position. Incidentally, the relative pitch of theplows is changed'to that required to cause the machine to run level.J

When the plows are in a raised position, as indicated '1n Fig. 1, theaxis of the wheels 11.0 10 comes in substantially the same verticalplane as the axis of the rear truck wheels 3, as desired for permittingthe easyv turnlng of the vehicle when the plows are out of action.' Whenthe plows are in action, the 115 two sets of supporting wheels arerelatively4 positioned to resist forces tending to divert its truecourse.

In plowing operations,'the depth of cut is regulated by an adjustment oflever 34, 120 Vnormally no adjustments of the levers 31 being required,butwhen the implement is used for relisting purposes, levers 31 aremoved rearwardly in order to restore the itch necessary for .shallowplowing. In

the latter operation, it is necessary to lower the plows below thebottoms of the supporting wheels an abnormal distance, and the operationof lever 34 in -a direction necessary for lowering the plows results ina degrease in pitch which must be compensated While there is shown anddescribed but one embodiment of the invention, it is to be understoodthat it is capable of modifications which do not depart from the scopeof the invention, as disclosed in the appended claims.

1. An agricultural implement, comprising a supporting frame and wheelsjournaled thereon, aplow beam supported for vertical adjustment` at onepoint on said frame, .a ground wheel having a vertically adjustableconnection with said plow beam for sup'- porting the beam at anotherpoint, connected means for simultaneously adjusting the beam withrespect to the frame andbeam supporting wheel, and means forindependently adjusting the beam relatively to said ground wheel. v

2.' An'agricultural implement, comprising a central longitudinal framesupported by wheels longitudinally spaced for tracking in a furrow, atransverse frame member, a pair of plow beams having vertically ad-Y justable pivotal connections with said transverse frame member, a7supporting wheel'for each" beam' connected therewith, to permit relativevertical adjustment of the beams, and connected means for simultaneouslyand vertically shifting both plow beams at their pivotal connections,with said transverse frame member and at their connection with thebeamsupporting wheels.

8. An agricultural implementI comprising I a central longitudinal framesupported byA wheels longitudinally spaced for'tracking in a furrow, atransverse frame member, -a pair l of plow beams having verticallyadjustable pivotal connections with said transverse frame member, asupporting wheel for each beam connected therewith, to permit vrelativel vertical adjustment of the beams, connected means'for simultaneouslyand vertically shifting both plow beams at their pivotal connectionswith said transverse frame mem- 4,ber andat their connections withthebeam supporting wheels, and separate means for vertically shiftingeach plow beam with respect to its supporting'wheel. v

4. In'an agricultural implement, a supporting truck, a vplow beam, atoggle connection betweenAV the forward end of said beam andthe truck,an independent support .to which the-beam is pivotallylfconnected atanother point, means for straightening or breaking said toggle for thepurpose of adjusting' said beam around said independent support, andmeans for bodily moving said toggle connection vertically and"simultaneously, vertically adjusting thebeam at its -independentsupporting wheels substantially in lateral alinement with the rear trucwheels.

6. An agricultural implement comprising a supporting truck and a,plowframe pivotally connected at their forward ends, said truck havingsupporting wheels and Isaid plow frame having independent supportingwheels substantially in lateral alinement with'the truck wheels.

` 7. An agricultural implement comprising a truck having a supportingwheel mounted thereon, al plow connected to said truck,'sa'id plow beingprovided with a separate supporting wheel, and means for longitudinallyshifting said supporting wheelv into and out of alinement with the truckwheel.

8. An agricultural implement comprising a truck having a supportingwheel mounted thereon, a plow connected to said truck, said plow beingprovided with a separate supporting wheel, and means for longitudinallyshifting said supporting wheel into and out j of alinement withthe'truck'wheel and simultaneously raising Aor lowering the plow withrespect to its supporting wheel.

9. An agricultural implementcomprising a truck, and a supportingwhe'eltherefor, a plow connected kto said truck, a crank axle journaled'onsaid p low, a separate supporting wheel journaled on said crank axle,

-means for adjusting the crank axle around its pivotal support on theplow, said crank aXle being mounted on the plow in suitable. positionto. bring its supporting wheelV in lateral alinement with the supportingwheel of the truck when the plow is raised and to move the plowsupporting wheel outV of alinement with the truck wheel when the plow islowered.

In testimony whereof vI affix my signature.

SAMUEL-K.A DENNIS.

